


Body Heat

by JayceCarter



Series: 30 Day OTP Challenge Thane/Female Shepard [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Canon Can't Stop Smut, Cold Weather, F/M, Feels, Naked Cuddling, Not Canon Compliant, Sharing Body Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 04:02:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14180142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayceCarter/pseuds/JayceCarter
Summary: Shepard has been separated from her shuttle, fallen into a stream, and forced to sit naked by a fire while her clothing dries. The only thing making the ordeal worth it is a certain equally-naked drell sitting beside her. When he suggests sharing body heat, she thinks maybe things are looking up.





	Body Heat

**Author's Note:**

> SORRY FERAL. No smut here. I'm going to try and do a 30 day OTP challenge for April with them, and I promise, some have actual smut involved!
> 
> Day One: Cuddles (Naked)

Taylor wrapped her arms around her middle and leaned forward, rounding her back against the cold. Her skin tingled as goosebumps sprung up along her arms, her legs, her back.

 

She shifted toward the fire, desperate for the heat to soak into her.

 

"Are you all right, Shepard?" Thane mirrored her stance, seated on a rock, elbows on his knees. He also mirrored her position by being dressed in nothing. Still, he’d angled his body away enough that she could see the outside of his thigh and his profile. Nothing showed, no matter how it disappointed her.

 

The tumble into the river they'd taken when headed toward the shuttle had drenched them both, and once the sun had set, the temperatures had dropped.

 

"Yeah." She shivered, teeth clattering. "Just peachy."

 

The make-shift clothesline they'd set up had both their outfits draped over it, and by morning they'd be dried.

 

"Tali will have the shuttle fixed by the time we reach her."

 

"I know." Taylor shifted forward, trying to close the gap between her and the heat. "How the hell are you not freezing?"

 

"Drell hold their temperature better. We don't don't heat up or cool down as quickly as you humans."

 

"Well, lucky you." She held her hands out to the flames.

 

At least neither had been hurt, small miracle that it was. They'd landed to explore a distress signal, but when Thane and she had surveyed the area around the landing site, they'd gotten cut off by heavy mechs. They'd targeted the shuttle, so Taylor had ordered Tali off. She'd taken a few hits and been forced to land and make repairs.

 

And that clusterfuck had left Taylor and Thane traipsing through the forest to where Tali had been forced to land. By the time they reached her, the shuttle should be about ready to go and get them off that forsaken planet.

 

"You're cold."

 

"It's freezing, and I’m wet, and I'm naked. Of course, I'm cold." The snap of her voice had her wincing. So, perhaps that wasn't fair.

 

None of this was his fault. It wasn't anyone’s fault.

 

Still, there had been some lingering feelings between them, at least on her side. Each time they'd sit in his quarters when he'd talk to her, she'd wanted to reach out and take his hand. She'd wanted to admit that she couldn't imagine not talking to him anymore, not knowing he was there. It had started as friendship, but she'd started to want something more.

 

What he wanted, if anything, she had no idea.

 

She'd never met such a guarded person, someone so introspective and yet so hard to get near. He shared the darkest parts of his past, the most painful but never gave her any idea if he held any interest in her.

 

Did he look at her as anything other than a friend? Was he interested in humans at all?

 

Maybe she was barking up the wrong tree with him, but she couldn't help it. Something about the honest way he spoke, the quiet strength, she’d found herself drawn to it. In a world where things changed so often, where they were muddy and clouded, the honest way he lived thrilled her.

 

A touch to her shoulder had her jumping. Thane had moved over and crouched beside her. She kept her gaze on his face and away from more delicate and interesting areas. It was as professional as they could manage under the circumstances.

 

"You didn't answer me."

 

She swallowed, then tried to steady her voice. "Sorry, I wasn’t listening. I was trying to figure out where I went wrong with my life that I ended up here."

 

His lips pulled up at the corners into a rare smile. "I said that your shivering has worsened. The night is long, and the last thing we need is for you to develop hypothermia."

 

"I'm tougher than I look."

 

"I believe that, Siha. However, if we were to get closer, we could conserve body heat."

 

The words took a moment to sink in. Another moment and her cheeks heated at the thought. Without meaning to, she pictured those hands sliding along her side, pulling her closer, her lips against his.

 

_Focus._

 

She shook her head. "That's not a great idea, Thane. I'm pretty sure somewhere near the front of the Commander handbook, you’ll find not cuddling naked with your crew in there."

 

"Survival is worth the risk of a little embarrassment or discomfort."

 

She sighed, gaze on the fire. He was right, of course. It was easier for him to say since he didn't seem to have any reaction to her sitting there naked.

 

She’d given up trying to achieve the softness of some other women. Years of service had taught her to view her body as a tool, but even with all that, not even a hint of lust in response to her nudity stung. Of course he didn't mind curling up for warmth; It was no more appealing to him than curling up to a warm rock.

 

To her, it was a far more dicey suggestion.

 

Still, she knew he wouldn't let up. He'd lived long enough to know that practicality was more important than anything else.

 

"Come on. We are both adults, and this is just for warmth. It is an easy choice."

 

She unhooked her arms from around her legs. "Okay. You're right. How do we. . . you know."

 

He shifted behind her, but she kept her eyes forward. Don't leer at the poor man who was trying to keep her alive. The warmth of his scales came to press against her back. His arms wound around her, slow and careful, his legs on the outside of hers. It caged her in with his body, with so much of him around her.

 

His back pressed against the cement block they'd found, perhaps not comfortable, but it would keep the chill from any breeze away, and give him something to lean against.

 

Taylor tried not to even breathe. How many times has she'd imagined this? She'd woken so many nights, drenched in sweat, the tingle of her skin from where he'd touched her in her dreams.

 

Don't let on. Don't make him uncomfortable.

 

His breath blew over her ear as he spoke, voice low. "Relax. You are tense."

 

She couldn't imagine why she might be tense. Maybe because the man she'd lusted over for weeks was naked and up against her and oblivious. "I’m not used to naked snuggling."

 

He rubbed his hand over the outside of her thigh, a soothing touch. "This is a matter of basic biology. If you are concerned about misunderstandings, don't be. I know this is just to keep warm and not some invitation. I would not take advantage."

 

"What if I wanted you to?" The words slipped out before she could stop them.

 

He froze, muscles going rigid behind her. Silence dripped with rejection.

 

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Thane. I shouldn't have said that." She sat up to pull away. Maybe freezing to death was better than this.

 

His hands tightened around her, however, keeping her against him. "Wait."

 

"It's really okay. I won’t hold this against you, it was just my own stupidity. We'll chalk this up to low body temperature, okay?"

 

He flatted her is hand against her stomach, thumb rubbing against her skin. The scales scratched against her, drawing goosebumps that had nothing to do with the cold. "You are more forward than I expected."

 

"Subtly has never been a strength of mine."

 

"We've had many talks, but you've never shown this sort of interest in me." He drug the tips of his fingers across her stomach as if memorizing the texture of her skin.

 

"You never showed any in me."

 

"You deserve more than an ill assassin not long for this world, Siha. Why would I pursue you?"

 

"Pursue implies I’m running. Last I checked, I keep tracking you down."

 

"I assumed it was profession politeness, perhaps curiosity or an attempt to develop strong bonds with the crew." His hand moved up, walking over her ribs. "I might have had a few thoughts that were not entirely professional, but I did not allow them free-reign because I did not wish to make you uncomfortable. I had no reason to believe you'd return them."

 

A soft moan left her lips when he traced the bottom curve of her breast.

 

Perhaps it was the time she'd spent waiting, hoping, but she'd had one night stands that hadn't felt as good as that one teasing stroke.

 

Taylor set her hand on the outside of his thigh, fingertips running over the roughness of his scales. "All it took was being naked and in your lap for you to get the hint, huh? Your work skills lead me to think you were far more observant than that."

 

He pressed his lips to her shoulder in a kiss that felt like the prayers he said: soft and reverent. "I never claimed to be a clever man."

 

Taylor went to turn, to straddle his lap, to wrap her arms around his neck and warm them up a better way.

 

His arms tightened to keep her against him. "Be still."

 

"Why? You want this, I want this, so why wait?"

 

"Why rush?" Leave it to Thane to be practical, always.

 

"Other than the fact that we're both naked right now? How about because we might not see another day. It's not like we live safe and sound somewhere, Thane. I don't want to waste a single minute now that we're finally on the same page."

 

He stroked across her breast before he cupped it, thumb brushing her nipple. "This does not feel like a waste to me."

 

She arched into the touch, pushing her breast into his palm. Her hand on his thigh curled in, and while she knew her nails dug into his skin, he didn't show any sign of disliking it.

 

Too soon, his hand disappeared from her breast. He moved the touch over her collar bones, over her throat, memorizing every detail. His other hand worked along her legs, her knees, her thighs.

 

He didn't dip between her legs, even when she let her let fall open in invitation, much to her disappointment. Her life didn't lend itself to slowness, to caution, to waiting, but leave it to Thane to force her to develop patience.

 

He pressed a kiss to the side of her throat before he shifted behind her, his arm wrapping tighter around her to pull her flush against him in an embrace.

 

She waited, breath held in her lungs, expecting something. Would he continue the sweet exploration? Suggest something more? Ask for something in return?

 

He only released a long breath as if settling in.

 

"Is that it?"

 

His chest rumbled against her back as he spoke. "I hope not, but for now? For now, we should rest. Tomorrow will come early, and we still have a long walk ahead of us."

 

"Right, because I'm in a great mindset to get some easy sleep. Completely relaxed."

 

His thumb continued that gentle stroke against her side that, despite her denial, did lull her toward rest.

 

"Do you not want to?" The question came out soft and unsure, something Taylor knew she rarely sounded like. Still, his desire to go slow, to not admit to his feelings, it prickled across her skin like rejection.

 

Another sigh against her cheek before he pulled her back, her ass scraping against the ground until she pressed against his crotch as well. Well, there was no mistaking that reaction, not when his cock nestled against her. It made her pull in a shaky breath at the promise there.

 

"As you can feel, yes, I want to."

 

"Then why stop?"

 

"I do not fall with ease. I do not let infatuation take me with just anyone. Only two women in my life have made me feel unsettled, have made me feel alive. That sort of gift should not be squandered by, as you might say, a quick tumble. The things I would like to do with you, the things I have thought about, would not serve well in the dirt, in the risk, in the open like this. You deserve more. This deserves more."

 

She sighed, burrowing back into his warmth more. "You're a romantic, aren't you? How the hell did I get saddled with a romantic?"

 

His chest rose and fell against her back, that soft laugh, the telltale sign of his subtle amusement. That was the thing about Thane, though. He didn't wear his feelings on his sleeve. He might be clear about things he saw as truths, but he was guarded, and subtle, and everything she wasn't. "When there is something worth having, there is something worth savoring. Now, rest. Tomorrow, we will make it to Tali, then back to the Normandy."

 

"And then what?"

 

He leaned in enough to press a light kiss to the corner of her lips, a tease, a taste of what she wanted, of what was still to come. "And then I plan to savor, Siha."

 


End file.
